ACGME approves new fellowship and increase in General Surgery residents at UK
By Josh Shepherd
The Division of General Surgery received approval from the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in May to expand their class of General Surgery residents from seven to eight and to establish a new Colon and Rectal Surgery (CRS) Fellowship program beginning in the 2020-21 academic year.
These approvals are an important recognition of the quality surgical educational opportunities our GME programs provide and acknowledges the significant growth of the UK Department of Surgery over the last four years, said Dr. Sandra Beck, Director of the UK General Surgery Residency Program and section head of Colon and Rectal Surgery.
“We are particularly excited about the new CRS Fellowship at UK,” she said. “It has long been a goal of the division to add CRS to our catalog of specialized fellowships within General Surgery.” In addition to CRS, General Surgery provides fellowships in Vascular Surgery and Surgical Critical Care.
Jitesh Patel, MD, FASCRS, FACS will serve as fellowship program director.
UK Colon and Rectal Surgery is composed of five very experienced faculty members, all of whom have completed fellowships at different teaching universities. Combined with the complex pathology of colon and rectal disease that some Kentucky patients present, aspiring fellows will accumulate a broad range of experience in the clinic and in the OR, Dr. Patel commented.
The addition of an eighth resident position in General Surgery is equally exciting. The extra resident will allow aspiring young surgeons greater flexibility to add an elective rotation during their training years. It will also provide much needed relief to all surgery residents and faculty for on-call schedules and work hours.
One additional resident will also provide needed support for a new Bariatric Surgery service that the University of Kentucky Department of Surgery is developing.
